A health worker teaches women about ampox prevention at a clinic in Munigi, eastern Congo. | Photo credit: AP
Congo will receive its first vaccine doses to combat the ampox outbreak from the United States next week, its health minister said on Monday. The World Health Organisation has declared the ampox outbreak in Africa a global emergency.
Cases of ampox have been confirmed in children and adults in more than a dozen African countries, and a new variant of the virus is spreading. Only a few doses of vaccine are available on the continent.
Congo has the most cases of ampox and currently needs 3 million vaccine doses. Health Minister Roger Kamba told reporters that the United States and Japan have offered to donate vaccines. He did not say how many doses would be sent or when the doses would arrive from Japan.
The World Health Organization has reported more than 17,000 MPOX cases and more than 500 deaths worldwide this year. More than 96% of all cases and deaths have occurred in Congo, whose health system has long struggled to prevent disease outbreaks across the country’s vast area and poor infrastructure. More than 70% of cases and 85% of deaths in Congo occur in children under the age of 15.
Scientists are also concerned about a new variant of ampox in Congo that may spread more easily. The first case of the new variant was reported in Sweden last week. Officials said the risk to the general public is considered “very low” and they expect sporadic imported cases to continue.
Unlike previous mpox outbreaks, where lesions were mostly seen on the chest, arms and legs, the new variant has mild symptoms and lesions only on the genitals. This makes it difficult to detect, meaning people can make others sick without knowing they are infected. mpox is not spread through the air and usually requires close skin-to-skin contact to spread.
The WHO said that recently, ampox was identified for the first time in four east African countries: Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda. All of these outbreaks were linked to the epidemic in Congo.